Scarred and Barred
by Clarilune
Summary: Phoenix is faced with yet another new case, but this time in a new world, defending murder-suspect Squall Leonhart. Can the Ace Attorney get a not-guilty verdict for the scarred gun-swordsman, or is Yuffie really going to have to break him out?
1. First Impressions

A/N: This idea hit me really hard, really fast. I've always wanted to do a Kingdom Hearts/Phoenix Wright crossover, so here it is. I got pretty much everything planned.

Let me just quickly say that this is mostly centered in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Sorry that it starts off a little slowly at the beginning. I plan to make this considerably long; it's definitely going to be multi-chaptered. I'm not going to stretch it out forever and ever though. Just as long as it takes for a usual case in Phoenix Wright.

Background Check: This is set before Sora even comes to Traverse Town. On that note, this is set mainly in Traverse Town. No pairings as far as I can tell; this isn't a romance fic. This will include a few characters that haven't been featured in the KH series but I wish _could_ be. There will also be a few minor OCs included to get the case rolling along. To clarify: When Phoenix appears and he thinks of Edgeworth as dead, it's because he's in the middle of _Justice For All_ and hasn't learned of what really happened to him. Please enjoy!

Rated T for language, violence, suggestive themes, and Yuffie...because she's Yuffie...and Cid, too, because he can be quite vulgar.

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Kingdom Hearts or Phoenix Wright. It'd be great if I did, but I don't.**

* * *

"_Murderers will try to recall the sequence of events, they will remember exactly what they did just before and just after. But they can never remember the actual moment of killing. This is why [they] will always leave a clue."_ –Peter Ackroyd

_April: "You don't just have spiky hair, you also have a spiky heart."  
Phoenix: (That does it. When this case is done I'm shaving my head.)_

—from the video game _Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney_

"_So what if Polly was her name? My granddaughter has a dog named Phoenix! Does that mean that you're her fiancé, Mr. Wright? She's only 7 years old!" _–Manfred von Karma, from the video game _Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney_

* * *

**Scarred and Barred**

* * *

**01: First Impressions**

Traverse Town. It's home to the weird, the normal, the lost, the found, the good, the bad, the ugly, the pretty, the cross between pretty _and_ ugly, the stupid, and the smart. But most of all Traverse Town is dominated by those-missing-a-home-because-it-was-overrun-by-the-Heartless-and-taken-away-from-them. Those who lost their home were referred to as the common kind because they were all the town consisted of. The loss of their home defined the people of Traverse Town and ironed them into official citizens—_automatic _citizens as soon as they were dropped off, torn as the only surviving patch off a blanket that would take forever to be sewn together again, the representative and ongoing taker of the ethics and elements inscribed from their now nonexistent world.

And there always has to be somebody to take up those orphaned souls and tutor them into an adjustable realization of a new home. Mostly it's Leon's duty, because he's almost always the one to find newcomers and introduce them to the inexorable truth. A walloping percentage of Traverse Town don't wish to socialize or have anything to do with newcomers because they're so jumpy or too emotional or even too grainy when it comes to handing them the truth—which is why Leon doesn't mind. He always has back-up, however—especially since he doesn't want to talk to the newcomers at all after he's explained what happened and why they're there. Yuffie humors good-naturedly or piles on irritation like she's stacking a cake; Aerith nurtures so comfortingly her cradling demeanor could put a coat rack at ease; even Cid Highwind, the complete grouch, has something to add to the table, by either threatening, offering jangled advice or a decent cigarette.

This time, however, it's Yuffie's turn to find someone.

Well, not her turn…but she does find someone. _All_ by herself.

Okay. That's a lie. She had Leon's help. But she didn't ask for it, so it doesn't count. The Great Ninja Yuffie doesn't ask for help. _Ever_. And Yuffie would rather shove her fist in her mouth than admit that's going to turn into _another_ lie, because this newcomer, the new person she finds, is going to be just the fellow she'll need for assistance in the future.

"_Squall_."

"It's Leon." It's become such a natural response used around Yuffie that Leon doesn't even have to think when he says it back to her, but he does have to glare as he says it, stabbing a look so cold in her direction that just the stroke of the look could forsake a mounting fire.

And Yuffie ignites that fire yet again as if she comes packed in the form of a lighter and gasoline in one, juggling the flames waywardly despite being told a thousand times not to play with fire. "_Right_. So, Squall—"

"_Leon_."

"—got any eights?" She holds up a stack of cards errantly to his face, waving it like a handkerchief but flapping it like it's a custom bird wing—one that can't fly. Yuffie's tried flying before, and though she _is_ the Great Ninja Yuffie and can jump from rooftop to rooftop without so much as twitching in the air, can sneak around in the shadows without being seen and called a peeping tom or stalker, can throw projectiles _and_ pin the tail on the donkey from a mile or so away, run with speed that she claims comes from her inherited Chocobo feet, and make impulsive comments and moves that can generally offend or amuse someone, she _cannot_ fly. Even though she claims that the broken arm she got a year ago was from wrestling with a sky demon that didn't like her skinny, but awesome self mocking the idea of human flight, people, like Leon, know that she can't be taken seriously unless she _promises_ to do something—like flying, which of all them know is impossible, even for Yuffie.

Leon doesn't even digest her words. He turns away from her so that he doesn't have to stomach her suggestion and marshals his thoughts onto a plank of nothing so he can reconvene his post and misplace his worries.

But just like with the metaphorical fire, Yuffie springs up and plants the worries in his face like she's throwing a pie on it instead.

"Hey, Grumpy, are you ignoring hot, sexy, krypton-killer, the-person-that-makes-your-heart-want-to-shout-but-it-really-doesn't-because-hearts-can't-shout-and-even-if-they-could-you'd-probably-be-dead-because-the-heart-would-open-its-mouth-and-lots-of-blood-would-gush-into-it-and-it-would-be-internally-bleeding-and-would-pretty-much-stop-working-but-wait-no-that's-not-right-because-hearts-transfer-blood-and-blood-flows-through-it-and-hearts-don't-have-mouths-so-you-know-what-never mind, A.K.A. the Great Ninja Yuffie, so _spanking_ good that she doesn't even have to spank anyone to give 'em one? Not like I'd want to 'cause spanking isn't my thing…but I'd roll with it if it was a favor to my hormones."

"Leave."

"Have you been throwing that sword up your ass when I wasn't looking? _Oh_. Never saw you get down with one before, Squall—"

"It's Leon."

"—but I guess if you had to do it with someone it would _have_ to be your weapon because you never let go of the damn thing. Possessive, aren't you?" Yuffie dives forward, amassing her focus onto the gunblade Leon grips in his hand, only for the blade to disappear right before she even makes contact.

She stumbles, but she doesn't allow anyone to see it. Catching herself, she whirls back around while extending her hand to the floor to tip her feet into the air as a modified version of a handstand. Standing back up, she adjusts the belt supporting her short musty brown shorts.

"Talk about controlling. Abusive relationships aren't healthy. It wants to take a break from you, find new people. I can tell. I'm a weapon-whisperer." Yuffie holds up a ninja star endearingly to her ear, as if she's listening to the ocean through a shell and inserting commentary between the gush of the waves. "Uh huh. Tell me about it." She looks up at him pointedly, almost as pointed as the weapon in hand. "Don't give me that damn look, Squall—"

"Leon."

"—I know that you don't understand how hard it is to listen to weapons that only want to stab or kill things—the sadistic little things; speaking of which, this ninja star wants to take a ride in your shoulder—"

"Yuffie." Leon closes his eyes, takes a calm breath, and opens his eyes to stare directly into Yuffie's chocolate brown ones—and she _refuses_ to call them any other color because chocolate is _damn_ good and yummy, the kind of bliss that Yuffie feels her eyes give away to any wanting to look into them—and that's said without as much arrogance as possible. Really. "I'm working. Can you take whatever you were planning on doing here somewhere else?"

Hmph. Polite bastard. …At least she thinks it to be politeness—for Leon, that is. She's been told plenty of times she was born without manners.

She sticks her tongue out. "Whyyy?"

"I'm not going to play this childish game, Yuffie. Leave. Please." He turns back away. Yuffie knows he's being fairer from the usual, more understanding.

But it still rubs her wrong, like the annoying feel of a sandpaper glove. And she likes gloves to be comfortable, like the pair she's wearing right now.

She pokes his shoulder. "Working for what?"

He doesn't answer, maybe because he knows she already knows the answer or he doesn't want to play into Yuffie's bait.

"Answer, 'cause my little friend here is starting to say, 'Stabbity-stab-stab!'"

He still doesn't say anything as he leans on his gunblade, keeping it leveled with him for emergency instances. Everything about him is still, composed—in a protector-of-mankind sense rather than a mad-killer one. His rigidity is somewhat governed by his black leather pants and jacket, with red symbols sewn onto the back to really add flavor (Yuffie believes it could be spicy, like salsa, though she can't say for sure because she hasn't tasted it. Don't give her that look. The Great Ninja Yuffie is willing to do anything; even taste clothes.) to it. His brown hair has gone from cleaved cutler perfection to a bit of an unruly mess as some of the locks slip along lengthily down his neck, prompting Yuffie to comment.

"Yikes. Someone missed their hair appointment."

Leon's eyes harden, but he doesn't say anything.

"So you never had one? Then _that's_ where it all went wrong. Hold still!"

Yuffie grins cheekily as she leaps upward and submerges again, holding the ninja star ever-so-closely to Leon's locks. He automatically guards by swinging the loaded sword in front of him, viscerally knocking the mischievous ninja back into a winded stance that inclines into a flip. She lands neatly on her tattered sneakers, wrapping the nearly unraveled yellow scarf even more engagingly around her neck. She adjusts her headband, which had been beginning to tip down her face while she was caught in her acrobatics. Ruffling her short black hair submissively with one gloved hand, she stares at Leon with a look of sheer motivation. Motivation to give him a noogie. Motivation to steal his gunblade. Motivation to tease him some more. Motivation to do something-that-she-doesn't-know-because-her-imagination-kinda-caved-when-she-scraped-the-floor-just-now-but-it's-nothing-perverted-she-swears.

"_Yuffie_." Now he's starting to sound _really_ mad. She should bolt before the gun-swordsman starts to take up the hobby of lecturing.

"Well, it's been nice seein' ya, Squall—"

"It's _Leon_!"

"—but I gotta go. People to please, sights to see, yah yah, all that gumbo. Don't miss me; I'll come back…eventually." _Once you realize I gots some goods_.

Yuffie's about to run off when Leon's glare just about rips off his flesh to reveal an all-out hear-me-roar glower.

"Give it back." The demand is murderously low. The sound could make a dead body shudder.

"Give _what_ back?" She bats her eyes innocently.

"You know what." It comes off as a snarl, but it's so much more. A warning. A threat. A _weakness_.

"Oh. _That._" Yuffie holds up an engraved ring, waving it dramatically near her face like she's fanning herself. "What have I got here? A _ring_? Are you trying to tell me something, Squall?"

And then all of a sudden Leon blasts into an animal rage—or what can be considered an animal rage for him. Anger, so powerful it's volcanic, jets through him. He doesn't steady himself backward first so that his muscles can receive some anticipation to the retaliation. It's what he'd usually do, but he needs to act fast or Yuffie will lead him on a chase. He lunges himself back briefly and sends his body forward in a swift heave, like his muscles are getting ready to jump out of his skin. His wrist snaps directly with the violent motion as he closes in on the unnerved ninja, causing his hand to reach out on cue. As Yuffie starts to hover back, Leon snatches her wrist, already halting the speedy ninja before she can go on an acrobatic rampage. He yanks the ring out of her grip. Yuffie has to yelp as he pulls back, slipping the ring out of view and turning away crossly.

"For the last time, it's Leon! You shouldn't be present here, of all places, right now. Go do what you're best at, Yuffie, by annoying someone who actually _wants_ to see you. And _don't say_ I need you or want you here, because I don't." The venom in his voice doesn't have to be existent and directed toward her to completely drown her expression in forlorn.

Her hands curl. She feels warm. No, more than that. Absolutely scorching, like molten hands have wrapped around her, have cupped her entire body in a magmatic palm. The warmth she feels is mostly out of humiliation than anger. She hates to look this way to Leon—to look and feel so foolish. Yuffie's about to fire off a series of retorts, of insults so senselessly bargained that she doesn't care to submit them if it means proving him wrong—when a man comes flying out of the sky.

At first the ninja's genuinely envious. She after all has had many flying attempts (all of which were failures) in the past. But then she sees the man isn't flying; he's falling. And she has barely enough time to open her mouth before the man lands directly on…

"_Oof_!"

She smirks. Leon.

Now don't get her wrong. She never wished bad things upon Leon. She just wishes they could understand each other a bit more…and maybe that took a stranger falling on top of him to deepen that chance.

Huh. First time she's ever seen two men in a pile. A man-pile. Hm. She can get used to this. Still, the stranger has made the worst first impression ever. She doesn't know who she should pity more—the stranger for landing on top of an angry Leon, or for Leon for being plowed to the ground. Oh screw it. Who wants pity?

The man-pile groans. Leon recovers much more quickly than the stranger who landed on top of him. He effortlessly slips out from underneath the man to take a stand, dust off himself, and then hesitate between bending down to help the man or do something else entirely.

Yuffie eyes him. He's tall, somewhat broad because of the formal blue suit he's wearing. His hair takes on a style that immediately intrigues her, black hair pushed back so sharply that they protrude into spikes and reveal a jagged widow's peak. His near-black brown eyes aggressively blink to picket out the shock still worn on his face. Strong jaw. Straight nose. Not a poor stature, too. Off the bat Yuffie has to assume him to be caught in some fancy-schmancy profession with all the bigwigs and CEOs. He has to be up on the high side of life—after all, he had been flying through the air and he landed on top of Leon. No doubt he's at the top of a company, too. Or _was_.

"Wh-where am I?" he stutters, looking wearily at Leon's straight face.

Leon begins with the introductions so often used to newcomers that Yuffie has it memorized like a script. "Traverse Town."

"Traverse…Town? But I was just in…" He grimaces. "Franziska must've knocked me unconscious this time…Not _again_…Now how am I supposed to continue with the trial?" He raises his head and shouts so loudly that Yuffie swears she would've heard him even if her ears were completely stuffed with wax. "Can someone wake me up? I'm so close to getting the truth!"

"You're not dreaming. Just don't be taken aback by embodiments of awesomeness. 'Cause, you know, I kinda am one," Yuffie says casually.

The man stares at her. She can tell there must be several things running through his mind, though he doesn't say any aloud.

"Traverse Town is a world home to many who have lost their own. Your world is gone," Leon explains.

Yuffie makes a face. _Way to be soft, Squall._

"…Who have lost their own…? My world…is gone…? What?"

Yuffie springs forward. "Ignore the big ol' softy here. What he's trying to say is that your home was devoured by the Heartless, which is why you're here, because this is the big _second choice_ or _other_ option that shows up on the poll of life when another world is taken and any survivors have to go somewhere. And we're your informers, welcome wagon, whatever-you-want-to-think-of-us-as, blah blah and a box of chocolates—I'm Yuffie!" If Leon's a "softy," Yuffie's the one who made him one. They both don't know the definition of subtlety.

The man continues to stare some more, the confusion now full-blown. While he's still trying to generate a full thought, Leon continues on with what he had planned on saying, setting aside Yuffie and the glare he wants to give her.

"Worlds are places we live in and on; each person has their own world. You had yours…until it was taken from the Heartless. They're creatures that steal people's hearts. They invaded your world with darkness, and now your world doesn't exist anymore. You're the only survivor of your home—unless any others are scattered here."

Comprehension dawns on the stranger. "Heartless…Those…creatures?" His mind fledges full realization, the memory taking span of his thoughts. He gasps and sits upright, looking around frantically. "Maya! Where's Maya? Pearls?"

"_Hey_, you believe us?" Yuffie's impressed. Not many believe them immediately. "Even though we could be barfing lies faster than water from a geyser? Even though we could just be looking for any excuse to steal your things…like this shiny thing for example?" She holds up an object admirably, examining it and noting it to look somewhat like a golden flower without the stem.

"My attorney badge!" He snatches it from her, though it's done with shaky strength. He's trembling from head to foot now, wrinkling his stiff suit with each amplified movement. He doesn't waste his time. Before they know it, he's up on his feet, searching the area hurriedly, but carefully, looking especially in places where things could be hidden.

"He'd either put his heart on a plate to give to us, or he'd believe me if I told him this place is the upgraded version of his grandma's house," Yuffie comments in both an assuming and joking sense. Still, a _lawyer_. That's a new one to Traverse Town, mainly 'cause it's _normal_, while still somewhat retro. Lawyers get paid good money, from what Yuffie's heard of them in the past. _And_ they're brilliant. But trusting or gullible? That doesn't really fit the bill of a lawyer. Yet this guy seems to be exactly that. Then…he must have seen or heard something that made him believe them.

Ah, wait. The Heartless statement. He recalled the creatures, and suddenly something clicked. A gear that had stopped suddenly started moving again, working through the previously encountered kinks.

Yuffie watches him dart around and then glances at Leon, waiting for a comment. He says nothing, but she notices he slings his gunblade up again in a ready position. He's resumed guarding. Of _course_.

She sticks her tongue out at him and makes faces at him from behind, tempted to steal his ring again. He doesn't have to be _Butty Buttkins_ or _Ass McAsser _now of all times, but he is. A new citizen is added to Traverse Town and yet again he's taking on his anti-social, cold exterior and leaving it up to her and the others to get the newbie situated. Well, fine. Be that way. Be a loner. Whatever. She doesn't care.

…Okay yes she does. But she'd rather cut off her tongue and willingly feed it to a cannibalistic old man lacking teeth or dentures than admit it. Least of all to _Squall_…Leon…Whatever.

Sneaking up from behind, she pokes him in the side. He doesn't even twitch.

"…Leon?"

"…"

"Do you want me to get him started? 'Cause I'll do it. Just give me a response."

He looks at her.

"Hey, you're listening! That's an improvement. I'm training you well. _Verbal_ response. Comprende? I know you can talk. You just talked a butt load to that guy. So _say_ something, and I'll leave you alone. Pinky promise!" She holds up her pinky, now more cooperative than she's been for the whole time she's been there.

Leon stares straightforward. "Just go."

"That's good enough for me! I'll be back, and I _know_ you'll miss me!" _And possibly some other things, heh._

She sustains the evil laugh she had been trying to perfect ever since the idea of evil laughter popped up in her head. As she leaps away, Leon doesn't have to check to know that something's wrong.

"…Yuffie, give it back."

"Give _what_ back?"

* * *

Everyone has that _oops_ moment, where they lose sight of something or drop something or trip just by simply walking. Yuffie had that moment. _And_ she had it again. And again. And again.

Okay, this is the last time, she pinky promises!

…Okay, so her fingers were crossed. Don't judge a gal, 'kay?

And now she's having that moment again 'cause she's lost sight of that new guy and she can't find him.

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, she wonders how he could get away so quickly. For a guy with such a stiff suit, he can run _fast_—which impresses the ninja. The suit had to have been as stiff as cardboard, which is why his acceleration is so impressive, because Yuffie's tried running in cardboard before. To summarize the experience, ninjas and cardboard don't mix. Don't try it. Just don't. And don't taste it either. Your taste buds will hold it against you forever…not like Yuffie knows about _that_ one.

Now duct tape. Duct tape is a different story. She'll have to try making an outfit of duct tape like she did with the cardboard because she would probably have _some_ chance of flexibility. A bonus would be the free wax that would come upon taking it off…but that would also hurt. Lesson to be learned, kids: Duct tape can be your greatest enemy or friend. Cherish it, or hate it. Whatever doesn't offend your religious standards or beliefs.

Yuffie's gaze flies slickly over the streets she's passing by. "Ah ha!" There he is. But he's not alone, she notes. She halts before skidding off the roof, cutting cleanly through the air as she descends into a balanced landing.

When she lands, the man and the little girl now accompanying him look up at her in shock. Yuffie just grins, planting her hands on her hips, seizing every opportunity she can to milk her presence.

"The Great Ninja Yuffie, at your service!" She bows lowly. When she rises she sees the little girl looking up at her in a blend of awe, confusion, and shock. The little girl flickers through the emotions, as if unsure of which one to feel.

She's a little cutie, Yuffie has to say, and she's not really a picker of children unless they happen to be a ninja, want to be a ninja, or have a good measure on the cuteness scale. The girl can't be a pre-teen because she's too small, though she's thinly tall enough to be past toddlerhood. The top of her light brown hair (which is styled on the top of her head in a double loop) makes her just tall enough to reach above Yuffie's waist. The girl has huge brown eyes—which add ten points to the cuteness scale. Her petite form fits perfectly into her lavender…kimono? Dress? Well, whatever it is, it looks familiar to Yuffie. She's definitely seen the outfit before, along with the beaded necklace with the glowing green jewel-thing attached to it.

The little girl slides behind the man, hiding herself while clutching onto a fistful of his suit. The man is clearly torn, looking back at the little girl and then at Yuffie, indecisive about what to do.

Yuffie starts off by pointing a finger at him. "There. Told you my name _twice_ now, Spiky, but if you want to hear it a third time—and I _know_ you do—then the Great Ninja Yuffie will be happy to oblige. Ha! There! Three strikes and you're out. What's yours? And that girl's? Can't show you the neighborhood till I get to know ya more. I know you're an attorney, right? So you must like cash then? I like cash…Oh, by the way, here's your wallet." She yanks out the folded money-holder and tosses it to him, who catches it with a fumble in grace and words. She has to say she's kinda disappointed; she thought the dude would be loaded. Well, they don't have the same currency, so there could be a chance that his amount is worth a lot…

"Y-you stole my wallet?"

"Yeah, but that means I want to be friends…Lesson number one to being friends with the Great Ninja Yuffie: Always share." She winks and stares at the little girl peering at her curiously from behind him. "Who's she? A friend? A daughter? A wife?" She notices how the girl seems to perk up at 'wife,' though she looks a little dubious of the word, as if it means a lot to her but not in the scenario that Yuffie's predicting.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! She's a friend!" the man defends out of panic.

"Really? 'Cause I see some interest there about possibly being a wifey…What kind of sick marriage laws did your world go by?"

"N-no! You're getting the wrong idea! Pearl and I aren't…Ugh…you're worse than Maya…and Pearl when she goes off about Maya and our untamed 'love,'" he mumbles, clapping a hand on his forehead. He straightens and nervously fidgets with his tie. "…So, uhh, you steal things? From your 'friends'?" He's obviously questioning if Yuffie is a good person or not, testing her to gather exactly if she's one of the heroes or villains in this place.

Yuffie shrugs. "Depends on what it is and who it is. I can't really steal from Aerith 'cause she's too _Aerith_…and she could load a sack of guilt on to me like I'm a wagon of conscience. But Leon's always been fun to take from. That grump earlier was him, in case you were wondering. And you've been pretty fun so far, 'cause you always jump and freak out."

"Glad to know I can entertain you. You should see me when I'm being mugged—I'm the most 'fun' then," he mutters sarcastically.

"Aw, perk up, Spiky! That's actually the kind of thing I look for. No one ever does that unless I pick them off randomly from the streets…but lawsuits and threats usually follow the freak-outs, so it's just not the same. I guess you _can_ sue me though because you're a lawyer and you fondle the law and a good case, huh?" She shrugs and leans against a pole, relaxing her tensed shoulders. "But anyway, did you round the party? Any keepers? Takers? Losers? Weepers?"

He looks down at the girl still clinging to him from behind and then back up at Yuffie in mystification. "I can't find Maya. I need to find Maya…and Gumshoe…and Edgeworth is dead anyway…" Yuffie swears that with every name he listed his spikes drooped more and more until they were more of a hairy cataract rather than the imitation of a slanted porcupine. Kinda depressing—but most newcomers are when they learn that no one else accompanies them.

"And what's her name?" Yuffie points to the little girl, changing the subject.

"Pearl. I call her Pearly or Pearls, though," he mutters, still trapped in another distance, practically another universe at this point. Yuffie almost believes that part of him has been left behind, that a part of him did die when the Heartless infiltrated and robbed him of his world. By taking his world, they also took his spirit—at least as far as Yuffie is concerned. Pearl is still pretty clueless, it looks like. She seems like the type that would burst to tears at a pinch, and it's probably most likely that she was misinformed of the situation since she's only playing out the shy image right now.

"Well, Pearl, and, Spiky-but-I-don't-know-your-real-name-so-what-is-it…?"

"Phoenix Wright."

"And Phoenix! Step _Wright_ this way, 'cause it's my duty, as the Great Ninja Yuffie, to escort those in need of help! (And take what I can and leave, but let's pretend you people don't know that.)"

Yuffie begins to lead them, as Phoenix is strapped behind, ushering Pearl to follow. As he does so, Yuffie leans close to him.

"You're being pretty brave, Spiky. I've seen plenty of men burst into tears at this point, roll on the ground as if they were on fire, and threaten with obscenities so bad that _I_ can't even say them. Well, Aerith forbid me from saying them. Pssh. But I'm not one to follow orders…"

Phoenix swallows audibly enough to make one of Yuffie's eyebrows quirk. "I'm being strong. For now…For Pearl." 'Cause he's going to break down later and they both know it.

Yuffie nods. When she turns away, she decides not to comment on how he's dirtying his suit by wiping the sleeve of it against his eyes or how there's now a wet patch on it.

* * *

It turns out that the only reason Phoenix hadn't been flitting about the place looking for any others at the time when Yuffie found him was because he didn't want to panic Pearl—especially not so soon. After a couple weeks' worth of searching Traverse Town from top to bottom (literally, because Yuffie climbed on top of roofs and trudged through sewers just because the look Pearl gave her was too cute to deny any favors.), it was concluded that Pearl Fey and Phoenix Wright were the only survivors from their world. After discovering this, Phoenix tried not to show any sadness around Pearl; he kept it as buried as he could, so deeply knotted inside him that it would be impossible to untie so easily. But just by hearing Pearl cry after making the discovery and rifling through happy memories often shared with the friends that hadn't made it, Phoenix gave up trying to hide it and sulked. He sulked so badly that he nearly turned into a hunchback with how low his whole frame became when he did it. And the _tears_. Phoenix only tried to cover the tears up when he was around Pearl. Anyone else didn't matter as much. He'd lost everything…so why not add his manly pride to the list?

Thankfully, there's always some cheer to go around. Yuffie—and even a few of her other friends, like Aerith for example—come by frequently to coax them and several giggles out into the open. Pearl became really attached to Yuffie then and stopped getting offended when Phoenix compared Yuffie to Mystic Maya. When he first compared them though she puffed up so defensively that he thought he had pretty much lit a fuse. After she delivered a powerful slap (pretty tough for a nine-year-old; Yuffie's decided she'd be a good apprentice if she was a ninja), she burst into tears all over again and grieved Maya miserably, as Phoenix did the same.

There's always a bright side, however. Pearl can still contact dead spirits using the Kurain Channeling technique, and the only person she's been able to channel properly is Mia—which meant that everyone who had been alive beforehand are still alive, including Edgeworth, which baffles Phoenix, because he thought all this time that Miles Edgeworth had been dead. He's…alive?

Regardless of what any of it meant, they are still alive. Somehow.

Four months into their stay in Traverse Town, you could say that Phoenix and Pearl officially settled in. Phoenix could properly afford the apartment that Yuffie had flitted over all of town to get him. He had gotten himself a new job as a sacker at one of Traverse Town's supermarkets and planned on getting Pearl enrolled in some kind of education, if the world offered it. He kept up with chores around the house and giving Pearl as much attention as possible, including getting her and himself some new wardrobe, even though the little girl refused to change clothing most of the time, because by doing so she said it would strip her honor. Still, he kept his position as a lawyer open for anyone who needed it. But when it was perfectly clear that the legal system of Traverse Town was too tarnished, he took his suit off. He thinks that his services aren't needed anymore.

But he's wrong.

Phoenix is sleeping, sprawled on his full-sized bed with one leg wrapped in blankets while the rest of his body is outside of it and tossed on to his stomach. He's been sleeping in, so he doesn't know that Pearl has gotten up early again in dedication to her regular schedule to practice channeling and improve her overall skills. It's only when someone _bursts _through his window (which he doesn't know _how_ it got unlocked) that he groggily rolls out bed and offers a scream to say he's shocked that whoever or whatever came in the way they did.

Expecting to see a burglar, he latches on to the lamp beside his bed and positions it like a baseball ball, radiating enough defiance to give him the forceful nerve to fight back if he has to…only for it to get swatted out of his hands by a very panicked ninja.

Yuffie usually keeps a good cool. She doesn't get this _freaked out_ unless something seriously bad has happened. And by the look on her face, something seriously bad _has_ happened. What seems to add on to this is how her head is wrapped with bandages rather than the usual headband she wears. Phoenix opens his mouth to ask what's wrong and why the heck she came through the window and _how_ she came in when he's positive it was unlocked before she did, when she speaks over him—or, rather, _pants_ over him because she's practically hyperventilating and she did more than buck her legs in a frightened jog on her way here.

"You take murder cases?"

And just like that, Phoenix puts the suit back on again.

* * *

_**If You Must Know...**_

1) _"Hey, Grumpy, are you ignoring hot, sexy, krypton-killer, the-person-that-makes-your-heart-want-to-shout-but-it-really-doesn't-because-hearts-can't-shout-and-even-if-they-could-you'd-probably-be-dead-because-the-heart-would-open-its-mouth-and-lots-of-blood-would-gush-into-it-and-it-would-be-internally-bleeding-and-would-pretty-much-stop-working-but-wait-no-that's-not-right-because-hearts-transfer-blood-and-blood-flows-through-it-and-hearts-don't-have-mouths-so-you-know-what-never mind..."_

-I have a feeling not many people got this. So basically Yuffie was talking about herself, but I snuck in a few things that not many people would understand. The term "krypton-killer" was something one of my friends made to title a person simply as invincible. How so? Because Super Man could have been considered invincible, if not for his weakness being krypton. So a "krypton-killer" is someone that really lacks weaknesses. The part where Yuffie's referring to herself as someone that can make someone's heart shout was me making fun of this one story I read, where a person was loved so much that they could make someone's heart shout, metaphorically. I was poking fun at that a little bit, while also thinking that it would be a perfect tease-ramble for Yuffie to have. It just fits.

2) _Everything about him is still, composed—in a protector-of-mankind sense rather than a mad-killer one._

_-_Me poking fun again, this time at the story's conflict.

3) _"What have I got here? A _ring_? Are you trying to tell me something, Squall?"_

_-_This is the ring worn by Squall in Final Fantasy 8.

4) _"Franziska must've knocked me unconscious this time…Not again…Now how am I supposed to continue with the trial?"_

_-_Phoenix was in the middle of the game _Justice For All _(the second game) when he was taken from his world. To be more specific, he was in the circus case that I was too lazy to look up or define properly.

5) _She notices how the girl seems to perk up at 'wife,' though she looks a little dubious of the word, as if it means a lot to her but not in the scenario that Yuffie's predicting._

_-_Total reference to Pearl and how obsessed she is with marriage and relationships, which is why she often thinks Maya and Phoenix are going out in the games.

6) _"Really? 'Cause I see some interest there about possibly being a wifey…What kind of sick marriage laws did your world go by?"_

_-_Total reference again to the third quote at the beginning of this chapter.

I really hope you enjoyed the chapter. Review, please, if you get the chance, and stay tuned, because this thing is going to get _really_ complicated...


	2. Lost Cause

**A/N: **Yes, updates exist! I bet some of you were questioning the probability of one at this point. First I'd like to apologize and say that I am so sorry it took me forever to update. If you _are_ eagerly waiting for an update, be sure to check on my profile. I update it quite frequently and carry news about my stories and stuff. Thank you to those who added the story (Already? My goodness!) to your favorites list or just as a story alert. I love each and every one of you.

Here's some quick information about the chapter: It's long and still setting up the story. Yes, you do get a _little_ bit of info here and there, but mainly it's letting the characters and the plot sink in. The _real_ investigation will begin next chapter, with evidence and witnesses and character profiles. If you want some information on how that will be handled then please continue reading. _Yes_, Phoenix's thoughts are going to be in parentheses. I think it's sort of traditional, and the parentheses will always and _forever_ be apart of thoughts when it comes to Phoenix Wright games. To me, some of the characters in the chapter were a bit exaggerated, but you also have to consider their positions. I have an argument for each and every character's behavior in case someone feels they were a bit out of character. Also, at the end of this chapter I have a question that I would love to have answered and just a personal note. If you don't wish to look at the additional information I have below (even though it is extremely recommended), then please enjoy the story!

**Addtional information: **No, I will not literally put evidence lists in the middle of the story or character profiles. There will be moments, however, where Phoenix will look and see what kind of information he has and sort of link it together, with a list to accompany it. _But_ that will only occur only about one time per chapter because I'm sure that seeing it frequently would be unnecessary and annoying. Quotes will be apart of each chapter because they amuse me or I feel they are somehow quite related to what's occurring in the chapter. **I plan to make this story extremely involved with readers as well. **For example, I may leave the chapter on a cliffhanger with choices for Phoenix to choose (Ex: _Did the murderer have an accomplice, good timing, or used a distraction? I can't decide...What should I do?) _and then have reviewers decide what Phoenix should do or which piece of evidence he should object with to which statement. Speaking of statements, the statements will be in paragraphs but will be divided. Example:

"I went to the store with my father.

"Then we went home.

"But before we did we stopped at the gas station. That was when we saw him!

"The defendant! He was by himself, drinking some soda.

"Then he pulled out a knife and killed the man."

There you are. I think it's easier to decide what to do when they're spaced out like that. Lastly, there is a question I would love answered at the end of the chapter. Enjoy! Oh, and...

**THANK YOU TO UserShadow7989 FOR REVIEWING! Thank you to everyone else who read or added!**

**

* * *

**_Godot: So I decided to carry out an investigation in my own way...Godot-style!_  
**_Judge: I'm the same way. I like to hand down verdicts in my own way, Judge-style!_**  
_Phoenix: (Hmm, maybe I should ask some questions, Phoenix-style...)_

**-**from the game, _Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations_

* * *

**02: Lost Cause**

**

* * *

**

"Of _course_ you accept murder cases, because your service is killer and so is your hair! Seriously. I could make some nifty knives out of those bad boys. By the way, they got some messy grudge on ya, Spiky. You don't comb them much, do you? What? I'm a weapon-whisperer! That's proof that your hair is a weapon! Aw, come on! Don't have a spiky heart, oh-spiky-one! Lemme take a nab at them! I could be a blacksmith. Make a couple bucks. Get some dough from the show, take a blow from the know, and let go of the woe. What? You never heard of _speech_? If you're so illiterate, get a dictionary, Spiky, and stop staring at me like I'm a nut in a barrage of bananas!" Yuffie laughs weakly at her own joke. It's easy to identify that she's been diminished, that something that has been witnessed has completely vacuumed her happy-go-lucky normality for the moment. Her face is smothered so poorly by a disarranged portrayal of calmness that the panic can easily be seen behind it, like Pearl shyly peering out from behind Phoenix when they first arrived and met Yuffie. If that's not enough, she looks ill from all the bandages wrapped so firmly around her head, like her skull can freely vomit but the bandages are holding back the upchuck.

Phoenix doesn't know what to say. He opens his mouth to give his answer when Yuffie jolts up like she's been electrocuted and speaks. Apparently, refusal is only available for Yuffie because she will not take no for an answer.

_"DoyoutakeSqualltobeyour__notguiltyclient_? Really? You do? 'Kay! I now declare you defense-attorney-of-a-sullen-asshole! No divorcing till _after_ the trial is over, m'kay? All your legal babies will flip out otherwise. You don't want flip-floppin' legal babies!"

"Eh…what?"

"Stop poking 'clueless' in the butt! (Huh. Never took you for the type to poke words in the butt. Bet you started doing that when you poked 'perverted' in the butt, huh? What else do you do for your free time?) And go, go, Spiky Ranger!"

Phoenix has never felt so rushed in his life. He feels like—ironically, since the situation he's in contains just an excerpt from him and Yuffie's first real meeting, when she accused him of being married to Pearl—that the ninja has temporarily become his undignified, invalid wife, ordering him around with bitterness previously thought to be incompatible with her. He's throwing on clothes, brushing his teeth, making his bed, going to the kitchen, grabbing a banana, failing to retrieve the banana after Yuffie steals it, trying to ignore the grumble of his stomach at the thought of eating something like the banana, saying goodbye to Pearl, slipping on a banana peel while saying goodbye to Pearl, chasing after Yuffie after she hurries out the door, feeling mad and bruised about the banana incident, starting to dislike bananas, and realizing he's just being petty about disliking bananas when, finally, he just settles on chasing Yuffie.

Apparently, Leon is in jail for charges of murder. Yuffie does not say too much about it; just that he's innocent and that he needs help. She promises to lead the attorney to the detention center, but Phoenix believes she's been more successful in tiring and hurting him along the way.

"If you don't get him out, I'm going to have to break him out! And you're going to have to help me, Spiky," Yuffie scolds, bonking Phoenix across the head for what seems to be the hundredth time that morning. Why is she hitting him anyway? Didn't he agree to help? "So then we'll all become fugitives! Even though that would seriously piss Leon off and he'll probably have to hit a few people…But who cares? (But if he does have to hit someone, I'll have to pin him on your ass. Sorry, Spiky. Nothing personal. For Leon, you have to think 'pin the tail on the donkey,' but _he's_ the jackass, so it's the exact opposite.) The guy PMSs more than pregnant women with hormones on steroids, but he doesn't know what's best for him! The Great Ninja Yuffie does, _and_ she knows that he didn't commit the crime either!"

_(We haven't even had our first trial, and she already doubts my skills? Not to mention already planning and getting me involved in a break-out…She wouldn't really do such a thing…would she?)_ Phoenix thinks about that for a moment but does not have to for very long. (_Yes…yes, she would…)_

"How do you know Leon didn't commit the crime?" he asks questioningly, as Yuffie continues to lead him to the detention center where Leon is being held.

She gives him a look that says, "What are you? A dumbass?"

_(…I feel degraded, even though I shouldn't.) _Phoenix extends a hand to fiddle with his badge. He has a regrettable habit to twiddle with anything of his wardrobe when faced with anxiety. Strangely, the habit never breached him until he had arrived to Traverse Town, right about the time when he had met Yuffie. Phoenix's hand meets aimlessly over fabric, where his badge really belongs and yet is not there.

_(What the…)_

Casually, Yuffie tosses Phoenix's attorney badge towards him once she sees he's searching for something and stands tall as a failure to grow within the next few seconds.

He grumbles as he pins the badge to the front of his suit yet again. (_I really should've seen that coming.)_

"It's _obvious_ he didn't commit the crime," she states with a classy sniff.

"How so?"

"He's Leon!"

"…That's it?" (_I was expecting something that made more sense…but then again this is Yuffie I'm talking to.)_

"Yeah! Leon wouldn't ever do something bad—least of all, kill people. He may not seem like it, but he's as much of a people pleaser as he is a self pleaser." Yuffie cups a hand over her chin, staring upward while stroking it like she's grown a beard out of her emergent mischief. "Huh. That's a kinky-but-total-turn-off-thought. Someone must be really desperate for a good time if they imagine _Leon_ doing _that_. In fact, I think my brain had a sort of meltdown just now thinking about thinking about the idea. Thinking about thinking about something is really bad once you think about it…I'd rather not think about thinking about thinking about something that's totally not worth thinking about thinking about. Okay, _now_ my brain has died. I'll have to thank Leon for existing. He's not a people-murderer; he's a brain-murderer! Funerals are so pricey, and I have a shitload of brain cells! A thousand? No, a million! The Great Ninja Yuffie always has back-ups…Wait a minute, so then my brain's alive! It's a miracle!"

He stares and rewinds some of her ramblings in his head. "Wh…? Oh. How do you even know about that stuff! What are you…twelve?" (_Maya wasn't even this…corrupted.)_

Thinking of Maya causes him to wince, but he shakes his head in order to clear it, demolishing his thoughts before his emotions can intertwine too greatly with them. He has gotten better at controlling his thoughts and not letting them steer onto the path that he won't be able to walk ever again. But sometimes he feels like the flower whose petals have been wrongly plucked by someone wearing off their troubles. After the petals are all gone, the flower cannot _be_ a flower. It's just a living thing that has begun to transcend into death—fate decided by the action of an unfair force. Now, directions seem misguided, and what is up seems down, like the sky is the one mockingly victimized into being upside down by the strange toss of incompleteness.

Yuffie stares at him, gawking, for a solid two seconds before she thwacks him on the forehead, giving him the face-palm he wishes he could've been able to deliver himself.

"How dare you insult the Great Ninja Yuffie! Of course I know about masturbation! Aerith _did _give me 'the talk.' (Worst. Conversation. Ever.) I may be small, cute, and heck-skinny, but I am _not_ twelve! I'm sixteen—the age of adulthood!"

"I thought eighteen—"

"Count in bunny years, Spiky!"

_(…What happened to dog years?)_

Phoenix is caught between asking if bunnies have their own years or if they were the ones that died the earliest of the animals when Yuffie begins bouncing around excitedly. He looks up to see she's finally guided them to the detention center. At first the place doesn't really take a placing in his head because he's been to several detention centers, and it is hard to believe the building before him counts as one.

The first thing to note about the place is it is small—_too _small. If petite Pearl could be a building, she would be the building in front of the lawyer and the ninja right now—if only size-wise. The building in front of them is made, surprisingly, out of unbreakable cement rather than the masses of brick Phoenix has seen in every building of Traverse Town. The building is quite clean—at least from the outside, considering there are no scratches to scar its holier-than-thou appearance. As the sun strikes the material of the building, the whole thing seems to glimmer in response to the rays, seemingly so like a clear water fountain under a skylight. Phoenix has to admit it looks quite pretty for a detention center, when he sees the metal block letters at the top, spelling, "JAIL."

_(Well that's entirely too subtle. I really would've walked in thinking this was a grocery store.)_

"This place brings back memories!" Yuffie declares, before she trounces inside, picking up her knees in a cheerful march, defying the norms of flexibility with how high they go.

_(Memories? I didn't even know minors could be accepted in jail here…I guess Yuffie's an exception…But what normal person makes good memories in jail? She's either a rebel that welcomes bad deeds, or her life was so bad that being in jail was like being in an amusement park. Either way, that's just sad.)_

Reluctantly, Phoenix follows, nearly running into the door that Yuffie didn't bother to hold open for him. He's beginning to think that what one of his neighbors told him about Yuffie is right: she _was_ born without manners.

If he thought the outside made it look cramped, then the inside would make a claustrophobic fall into a coma. Phoenix swears that the reason he bumps into Yuffie is because there is simply no space to walk. He's nearly pressing himself against the ninja halfway into the building before Yuffie declares him to be a child rapist and scampers down a hallway to go further into the building—if you _can_ go further.

Phoenix, grumbling, follows. He questions if this is a real jail because he has not seen any officers or guards or, well…anything. It's only when Yuffie shouts something like a greeting to someone else ("HEY, GRUMPTY DUMPTY! Looks like instead of falling off a wall, you're locked behind one! Doesn't your life suck—sucks like _eggs_! Being that you are one, guess that means you suck.") that he really concludes this place to be the Traverse Town jail.

Even if the jail _is_ small, some of its contents are impressive. The cells are all airtight, but most of them don't even have bars; they're actually slated completely with cement, a clear elastic window for any passerby to look through, and a rather futuristic door that only slides open if unlocked by three different keys. How the hell could they afford this? How is the building _this small_ and still so…prepared? So ironed? So…good?

Phoenix figures out that Leon's cell is at the end of the hall—mainly because he sees Yuffie standing in front of one with a half-in-half expression of happiness and sadness. When he reaches the cell, he looks inside to see Leon pressed against the wall, blocked in all sides by the cement. He's in the same clothes that Phoenix saw him in the other day; the only difference is there are smidges of red on some of it…this time…

_(Oh no…)_

Phoenix feels nauseous, not because he's not one to stomach the sight of blood, but because the fact Leon has blood on him at all—most likely from the victim—easily makes him look guilty.

_(So it's going to be one of _these_ cases…)_

"I know what you're thinking."

Phoenix side-glances at Yuffie as she speaks, her look so darkly serious that it's an almost bewildering sight to witness. Flat, but somehow sharp, like a knife, cutting deep into the cavil emotions that Yuffie tries so hard to hide. They surface like fresh blood after a knife mars the skin, pouring out until a mess is a given. Her usually soft eyes turn harsh, like a mother resorting to firm punishment, and something akin to a lecture, of the rambling kind, pours out of her mouth with the guide of her rendered emotion.

"You're thinking he's bloody and just _bleh_ like a baby out of birth and therefore he's guilty, but he's not because he can't be because when babies are born they can't help but be a little bloody y'know and it's not his fault because I'm pretty sure someone set him up and Spiky, don't look at me like that, I know what I'm talking about! I've seen a baby after birth; it isn't pretty or inspiring. It's just gross…like Cid-practically-eating-his-cigarettes-instead-of-smoking-them-gross. That can _never _be pretty _or _inspiring, coming from the Great Ninja Yuffie, who laughed so hard while he was choking on one that she couldn't perform the Heimlich. You gotta believe me because I _never_ lie. (Except for that one time…and the time before that…and the time that came _after_ that…What? So sometimes we make mistakes. I blame puberty because it's stupid and jacked up my hormones. Jacked up hormones can misguide an individual. It happens. I bet your hair had jacked up hormones in its lifetime 'cause it's really weird, but cool-like. Spiky but not really…It has the total potential of a weapon! What? I'm-just-saying-so-that-you'll-just-say-yes-but-you're-giving-me-a-look-that-says-you'll-just-say-no-to-my-awesome-recommendations-so-never-mind-Mister-Porcupine-Butt-Face.) He didn't do it. I know he didn't." She clenches her fists, her hands no doubt feeling suffocated by the leather gloves she's wearing. You would assume with how fast she spoke she would have inhaled so hugely afterward that the oxygen in the room would immediately suffer a depletion. However, she transfers the suffocation to her muscles instead, by flexing and tensing in place in true declaration of her words.

That alone convinces Phoenix that Leon is, indeed, innocent. But it's not enough. He has to do what he usually does.

Take the case and win it. Make the truth come out for a client who was undoubtedly wronged.

Phoenix is about to comment to Yuffie about her seriousness when she starts banging at the cement, bruising her already worn shoes.

"Damn! Talk about upgrades! Like panties to thongs. Retro, right?"

(_And uncomfortable-to-talk-about-out-loud and disturbing and…why are we talking about this?) _Phoenix wants to add.

"It used to be so hollow," she observes as she gives the updated door another knock. "And what's with the epic doors? Hm…can the ol' card trick win it?" She lifts up a card that she pulls seemingly out of nowhere. Phoenix snatches it from her before she can do anything stu—sorry, anything _more_ stupid.

"Yuffie! We are not breaking him out!"

"Why not! What if he needs a bathroom break?"

"But we can't just break him out! It's illegal!"

"So we have to wait till his bladder bursts and sends his piss out the other end? It'll be too late then. Look at him! He has to pee! I can tell!"

Phoenix glances inside the cell. Leon is still against the wall, staring at Yuffie sternly, wearing the same expression that he wore when first introducing the attorney to Traverse Town. He wonders why the gun-swordsman hasn't commented yet…then again he's too scared to say or ask anything of him either, so maybe it's a good thing they haven't said one thing to each other yet.

Phoenix remembers when he first heard Leon's name, because the man never really introduced himself to the lawyer. Yuffie had told Phoenix—with stubborn, tractable firmness—that Leon's name was _Squall_. He had never been told, at the time, that Leon's name was…Leon, or, preferably, that was what he wanted to go by. So the day Yuffie took Phoenix to the gun-swordsman, Phoenix had greeted him by the name Yuffie had directionally given him. This allured Leon's spite in return when correcting the misinformed lawyer, and Phoenix—in a stammering morass—revealed that the blame went to Yuffie for the wrong name, of which the ninja disappeared to avoid yet another lecture and punishment.

_(He doesn't have to pee…Why does he have the same expression for everything! If anything he has to be constipated. Then again, his legs _are_ crossed…)_ Phoenix nearly face-palms at how his thoughts are getting ahead of them and exaggerating things in a very Yuffie-fashion. _(I've been hanging around Yuffie too much…)_

"What if we use your hair?"

"Huh?" (_My hair? For what? Radioactive shampoo?)_

"Yeah! It's all spiky and grr-I-can-kill-you-'cause-I'm-freaking-sharp-and-knives-are-my-relatives-grr! I bet if I had a coupla matches and dynamite we could turn it into some serious projectiles…You like missiles, Spiky?" Phoenix notices how her stare and now the widening, evil smile that accompanies it is serious. Quite serious. More serious than that time when Yuffie had come running to his apartment and told him she had stolen an ice cream shop and put it in his apartment because they were partners in crime and they needed a hide-out. At first that hadn't seemed serious—for Phoenix that is—until he had glanced at his living room. And then it became serious. Seriously.

_(Erk…!) _"N-no, I'm not a big fan of them or baldness either, so, uhh…" (_And violence—err, explosive hair—is never the answer!)_

Yuffie knocks on the window, causing Leon to acknowledge her with one glance. Just one. Something about the poor acknowledgement irks the lawyer; the fact that Yuffie has so much faith in her friend and he's only sparing her _one glance_ gnaws at him. It was just like the couple where the greater of the relationship waned on the girl, who poured her heart and soul to the boyfriend and got a slap in the face in return.

…Unless Leon doesn't really consider Yuffie to be his friend. At this point that would make sense, especially since it's so hard to be friends with the ninja, what with her having so many rules, conditions, and methodical friendship codes. Phoenix has gotten to know Yuffie a lot more since the beginning of his stay in Traverse Town, and he's learned that even after developing a friendship with Yuffie she had been serious when she said she stole things from her friends. The other day he was missing so much stuff that he was going to file a robbery report. One of the things that still bothers him when it comes to Yuffie is how impossible she seems to be sometimes. She managed to get three couches out of Phoenix's apartment using a transportation method that the lawyer doesn't even know about. _And_ she managed to steal an ice cream shop and put it in Phoenix's apartment. How? Why? Free ice cream maybe? That certainly sounds like Yuffie.

"Hey, Squall!"

The scowl that grinds onto Leon's face—almost as if his face is having to undergo a painful, roiling transformation brought by a third force that involves both pushing _and_ pulling in order to fully express his hatred—almost makes Phoenix flinch…_almost_. It's a powerful expression, cohered and cemented with so much anger that he believes that just the presence of Leon could entice the heat of a raging conflagration in the middle of a residential area for snowmen.

"_It's Leon._" He grits the words like he's chewing on rocks. Phoenix senses some repetition, like he's been forced to do this a thousand times while around Yuffie.

She yawns. "Hm. Right. So did you do it?"

Phoenix's expression drops. (_Unbelievable…)_

Leon doesn't hold her gaze for long. Before they know it, he's looking to the side, appearing oddly observant of the stony wall that's just as stoic as his now flat face. Whatever arsonist fueled the fire to incite his scowl seems to have made a clever getaway. It amazes Phoenix how limited Leon's range of emotions seems to be. If not angry, he's compromisingly emotionless. Blank. _Dead_. Especially now.

Is he offended by Yuffie's question?

_Screeeechhh…_

"AH!" Yes that bizarrely girlish shriek that Yuffie notes to tease him about later comes from Phoenix. Phoenix covers his ears, though that doesn't do more than dull the sound mercilessly clipping the air like a pair of crusading war-shears hostilely slashing through the matter to eliminate any eclipse of peace in it. If insanity had a sound, this would be it, simply because it's contagiously inflicting insanity upon anyone who hears it.

The source of the noise is, of course, Yuffie. She's digging one of her many ninja stars into the window, experimentally testing the elasticity, the structure, and the endurance of it like it's apart of her duty—and secretly she claims it is, in order to be the glorious ninja she has titled herself to be. Many people would disagree, however, and say that her only duty would be annoying the hell out of people. When she's finished, she pulls away and gapes at how no scratch is left behind. The window stares back at her, unblemished and clearly not very prevaricate of its invincibility, and through it Leon can clearly be seen, glaring now.

"Gosh, this place is the _king_ of condoms! It's almost like they're caging away royalty," she mutters in awe rather than aggravation. Phoenix can hear wonderment prowling through her voice, like she's wondering if it's fireproof and has a torch to test that as well.

(…_Condoms! Can she say anything without making it profane or inappropriate?)_

"Yuffie!"

The shout is enough to silence the ninja in her continuous inspection of the place and make the attorney's eyes widen. After all, he's never heard Leon get above a mannered volume.

"Leave! Now!" Leon yells. He's had enough. He's obviously disgruntled about the unnecessary screeching, too. He reaches his hand at his side as if to grab something, but he stops and continues his slump against the wall, as if in defeat.

"No! I! I won't!" she shouts back, somehow without a speck of anger, emphasizing each word to either mock the way he spoke or to flaunt her stubbornness on the matter. Phoenix suspects both.

"A-all right, Yuffie. We didn't come to do…whatever you're doing right now. (Fighting, plotting, undermining the intelligence of the people who built this place…That's a long list.) We came to get his story and approval," he reminds her.

Leon raises his eyebrow at 'approval.' He doesn't open his mouth or speak to taste the word. Decidedly, he jerks his head to the side. His voice does not burgeon or concede to go beyond the repetitive blandness that his vocal cords are adamant of; it's almost as if the phlegmatic tone is all his speech is capable of.

"…I don't want your help."

"Your pants are on fire, you liar!" Yuffie sticks out her tongue and presses her face against the window. Phoenix half-wonders what the window tastes it and if Yuffie's tongue really is against in when he decides that's a stupid question anyway. He's seriously been hanging around Yuffie too much. "You don't have to want us to need us 'cause I know you didn't do it, and you know it, too! So stop letting your pride hold you back! I don't care if you think you're doing the right thing because you're not! Doing the right thing would be getting a lawyer to defend you so that we can find who really killed whoever they're accusing you of killing and put them where they belong because the last thing you want is for more people to get hurt, right? So stop giving me that _damn_ look, Squall, because I swear on anyone who's listening (You'remywitnessSpiky'kaythanks.) that if you don't take this opportunity or whatever and do _the real right thing_ for yourself and everybody else, then when I have to break you out of this futurama llama place I will _wipe that look off for you_!" Huffing, Yuffie pulls back and continues to stare at him indignantly with her arms firmly crossed. Yet despite her rant and the anger in it, her mouth almost seems like it wants to break out in a smile, like her muscles have separated from her emotions and are acting on their own now. A smile has been exercised so much with the ninja's lips that it's benign to permanence.

Phoenix notes how Leon doesn't respond, but he swears he can hear something muffled being spoken, like a correction of sorts. Something about names…

Leon's reply sounds automated, like an answering machine that has no choice but to take missed calls. It gives him a motorized sound, as if his ancestry traces back to robots. It would certainly make sense with how heartless and careless he seems at times.

"…Whatever." He speaks slowly, as if he's still thinking the words and the decisions that succumb from them through. Surprisingly, he's speaking an _agreement._ "I'll take your offer…to be my attorney. But Yuffie, you have to leave. Now."

Even more surprisingly, Yuffie doesn't get mad, defensive, or even joking. She nods, turns to Phoenix, salutes, winks, whispers good luck and something about her running her own little investigation (but it's said so fast that Phoenix can't keep up), and then darts past him like a bullet released by a trigger.

Phoenix peers at Leon through the window. The suspect runs his hand over his face tiredly, nearly trying to hide the scar between his eyes when doing so.

"Yuffie's…a handful," he comments without quibble.

"Yeah, but she can be really helpful in her own special way," Phoenix replies. (_Her own _very_ special way. So special that she can be considered handicapped in the brain without actually being mental. That's _really_ special. In fact, that's a gift.)_

Leon stares at him for a moment before rising to his feet and approaching the window.

"You seem to understand her more than others…That's good." His stare is penetrating, no longer concealing itself through the thick disguise of absent emotion; however, it seems to have softened from their concise exchange. "What do you want to know?"

Phoenix is back in business, adjusting his tie proficiently rather than doing so in a fidgety manner, what Yuffie would call a 'wussy way' for him and a 'cutesy way' for Pearl. "Just tell me one thing: Did you do it? Did you murder somebody or anybody?"

There are a number of responses Phoenix is hoping not to encounter or see after asking the most important question he'll have to ask his client. But, of course, the response Leon gives is very inflictive, informative, and painstakingly brutal in its distilled slowness.

Leon pauses.

Phoenix nearly falls over, but holds off any collapse his legs threaten to give away, even if it feels like his bones have crumbled, crushed by the greatness of their cowardice and choosing to cower under the blanket of his flesh. (_What's with the pause! Does he _really_ have to think about it? The answer is either yes or no…pick one because I can't pick one for you!)_

After a long silence of which Phoenix internally chokes himself and nearly decides to intercept the pause to get rid of any doubt of Leon being innocent, Leon shakes his head.

"I don't think so."

"You d-don't think so?" (_Well I don't _think_ I'm screwed; I _know _I'm screwed.)_

"I can't remember anything from last night. I remember standing guard at the front sector of Traverse Town. I was going to move on to another when I was provoked from behind. I put a fight for as long as I could…until everything went black." Leon's eyes narrow. Pure, murderous intent is what Phoenix extracts from the distinct gap in them; he identifies it as a grudge to what occurred to him, unforgiving toward himself and what caused him to faint. It is prideful of Leon to hold such distaste toward what happened, though that does not stop the look from being any less scary. "When I awoke, I was arrested, read my rights, and directed here."

"So you remember _nothing_?"

"No, that was definitely something. It just wasn't enough to be my alibi," Leon says back coldly.

_(If his head was bashed in, we could've gone for the he-was-knocked-unconscious-and-framed-theory, but it's not…So…he was drugged?)_

"Leon, when you woke up, where were you? You weren't at your post, were you?" Phoenix inquires.

He shakes his head, though it isn't shaking as much it is just moving slightly. It can hardly be called a twitch. "No. I was…in my apartment. On my bed. With…blood on my clothes. They tested it. It matched the victim's blood, apparently."

_(Those legal babies will be flip-floppin' because the only court I'll be going to is divorce court…)_ "Do you know who the victim is?"

He shakes his head again. "I have no idea who it is. The police here asked me some questions, but the answers did no good. I was arrested anyway."

"What kind of fight did you put up with the person that attacked you? Did you see, hear, or even smell anything that could clue you in to who it was?"

Leon closes his eyes, prodding his memory, like his brain is a distracted toddler that must be called a few times before gathering its attention. "…No. Just a lot of chuckling."

_(…Chuckling? Hell, it could've been a hyena or Moe for all we know…Great…)_

Phoenix wracks his brain for any more details and questions. His mind has almost fallen asleep on him, as if it to say it's giving up since the entire thing is a lost cause as it is. "Leon…do you happen to sleepwalk? Do you have any conditions that make you fall asleep or fall unconscious during random intervals in time? High blood pressure? Low blood sugar?"

"I don't have any conditions. As for the sleepwalking…you'd have to ask Aerith or Yuffie about that. Yuffie's told me wild stories about me sleepwalking before…but she's not always the kind to tell the truth."

_(Yuffie…Geez…Where did she go anyway? Wait…how did the police wind up at Leon's place? Did they get some pretty bad evidence that led them to him? They couldn't have seen the blood-stained clothes until they showed up there…)_

"Leon, you woke up and the police were there?"

"Yes…my apartment was apart of the crime scene." Leon raises an eyebrow as Phoenix's expression makes him look as if his foot got run over by a van at least ten times before he amputated the body part himself. He seems to ignore this and the disturbing incontinent jerk of muscles in Phoenix's face. "Anything else?"

_(Uh, yeah. Do you also kill in your sleep?)_

Stepping out briefly from his thoughts to slap some sense into himself, Phoenix regains a demeanor so defeated that it's like he's already holding up the white flag. He's trying to forbear himself from chipping into the situation so quickly, but at this point he's chipped so much that the possibilities hinged over him like a rock nearly tipping over the edge of a cliff have turned into sand, slipping through his fingers until he can't grasp consensual ideas. He's conjecturing too soon, letting his mind get taken advantage of, like a street that's getting trampled by pollution until it's become a feculent mess. He can't let his thoughts get ahead of him. Because Leon's innocent. He is.

Phoenix straightens, subjugated by his belief of the matter. He's assured from Leon's weary stature and Yuffie's words from earlier that Leon is undoubtedly innocent. The man has given no reason to _not_ be…you know, aside from the bloodstains, him living in the crime scene, and having no useful alibi. _Nothing else_ can make him more innocent than _that_, right!

Right…

Phoenix tries to eliminate the hysterical edge to his thoughts, but he doesn't know how he can, since he knows there's no hope at this point. He corrects himself quickly, recalling what Yuffie had said. All the hope he'll need is limitlessly in Yuffie's assurance from earlier (even _if_ a lot of what she said didn't really make sense). That's all he needs. Yuffie's words have provided a crutch to his limping uncertainty, to where belief can stand back up again with prolonged determination.

"No, there's nothing else for now. I'll get back to you later with more questions if I have any."

Phoenix nods at him and turns away, half-expecting to be stopped by his client. Instead, silence follows, and the attorney shuffles out the door, wondering if he'll ever hear a proper goodbye from anyone in his new home.

* * *

It takes Phoenix a while to locate just exactly where Yuffie is. He remembers her saying something about running an investigation, but he hadn't really been sure what she was talking about. But now, he understands completely.

"YOU! YOUNG LADY! Stay _away_ from the crime scene! Now! You are _not allowed_ here, and I've told you a thousand times! Run off before I make a-thousand-and-one your least favorite number, since you've already made one thousand mine!"

"You're just jealous 'cause I've got busts, a frame so skinny it'd make a stick feel like a schtick, and the personality and flare of the Great Ninja Yuffie!"

Oh yes. This is definitely an investigation.

Yuffie wants to kill the police officer shooing her away; that much is obvious. Her eyes squint at him, but the smile on her face would make someone accuse _her_ of being the real culprit. The ninja has already entered the crime scene, considering she's behind the yellow tape preventing passage and extending from the left and right side of the street.

Phoenix sees the regular arrangement of homes in Traverse Town with additional items besides them, such as the old police vehicles and the police officers that drive them walking from two houses that are apparently the crime scene. He guesses one must be Leon's and the one directly across from his the victim's.

_(That's way too convenient…It had to be a set-up.)_

As he looks out some more, he sees that in the middle of the section of the street that is being blocked off there is some blood on the ground. He quickly looks away and back at Yuffie before his thoughts can get ahead of him again.

She's sticking her tongue out now and preparing to leap past the hunched and fairly-too-thin man—whose mouth is already open to fling a response her way that'll no doubt put her in her place—when someone—insane, no doubt, if they're going to Yuffie's defense—rises to the ninja's defense.

"Get back, Barney!"

The police officer recoils like he's been hit and directs his eyes toward a man that Phoenix can only see from behind. What can be seen is short, groomed blond hair, just long enough to possibly allow someone to mistake him for a woman from behind if not for his bulky exterior and lean muscle.

"B-but, sir—"

"She's not doing anything wrong."

"B-b-but, you don't—"

"Step to the side, Barney. She's just a child."

Yuffie bubbles up. "That's right, I'm a child! Back off before I file charges for molesting a girl's right to be innocent! You sick, _sick_ man!"

(_So much for being an adult.)_

Barney slinks past them, grumbling incoherently. When Phoenix arrives fully, he hears Yuffie slicing through her defense like he's suddenly transferred to offense. To Yuffie, he has.

"A _child_? Do I look like a _child_? A _kid_? A _weakling-that-cries-all-the-time-and-wants-a-glass-of-milk-or-whatever-it-wakes-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-and-asks-for_? (I _could_ go for a glass of milk right now…but it has to be _chocolate_ milk. So it's different. And special.) Yeah, I'm scrawny like a beaten baby sparrow, but I can kick asses as easily as I can own my own! Plus, I've got busts the size of…well…Tifa's! Practically…Don't look so shocked! It's gonna happen! I've got my whole future planned out. After the grossness of puberty, I'm going to think outside the box and the stuffing of bras and grow some—"

"I can't be discussing this sort of thing with a minor," the officer interrupts with a cough, galvanizing the inferno of Yuffie's oversized disapproval.

Punctually, Phoenix jumps in before Yuffie really ends up putting herself in jail…again.

"Yuffie! Stop molesting the officer's right to kick you out!" he shouts. _(Did that really just come out of my mouth?)_

The ninja pouts and then glares solidly. "Word-stealer!"

"It's called freedom of speech, and you've already stolen everything in my house. Shouldn't I be allowed to rip off your phrases?"

"…Touché. But where did you come from anyway?" She perks up before Phoenix even has a chance to open his mouth, recollecting information to supply the answer to her own question. "Did Squally give you some info? Some hard core stuff? Some dough to bake some real good _chocolate-chip_ cookies?"

_(Does Yuffie ever think before she speaks?)_

"Um…" The lawyer looks uneasily at the police officer standing nearby, questioning if the ears he's using to listen are trustful. Judging by the man's open demeanor, it seems that way. He is eavesdropping, but he's not bothering to be subtle about it. He's being truthful and straightforward even when the intent is supposed to be secretive. "A little, yes."

"I assume that he told you pretty much the same he told us," the officer states broadly, with a steely voice.

_(Is it just me or are the sound waves this man's voice generates capable of starting an earthquake?)_

Phoenix nods slowly, wondering if this is a trap…but proceeds to respond to it anyway. "Yes. He was at his post, he fainted after putting up a brief fight with an unknown person, and when he awoke he was under arrest."

"That sounds about right…but according to the crime scene, that explanation attests to nothing."

"Excuse me, Officer…?"

"Captain Phoebus. I accept nothing higher or lower, if you will." The man's smile broadens, and Phoenix observes him now that he can see the ventral.

Phoebus is just as broad as he was from behind, with a bulky torso and the scruff of faint hairs along his chin to strengthen his portrayal of manliness. Intensifying black eyes pierce Phoenix's, the pair instantly telling the attorney that the captain is good at his job and can sense guilt with one easy glance. Just by looking into them has induced guilt into Phoenix's guiltless self, placing him in the cradle of shame even if there's nothing for him to rock culpably about.

"And you are?"

"Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney. I'm defending Leon, on behalf of him being innocent." He wants to suddenly rewind, cap the lid of his jar so that not as much information—regardless of the truth—can leave him, but then he shrugs and decides it doesn't really matter anyway.

"Ah, good lad. As a head officer, I can't exhibit favoritism…but Leon, with his individuality and need to protect, is…well…as you say."

"So you think he's innocent?"

"I never said that. I just said he's…as you say."

"…We said he's innocent."

"Yes, but you said _on behalf_. This being said, it's stated as a belief rather than factual-borne information. And a statement in court must be presented with evidence…These are the rules that stand in this world, are they not?"

_(…I really hope this guy's not a prosecutor, too.) _"Y-yeah…" _(Good lord, he's looking at me like I'm going to be put under arrest. Whose side is he on?)_ "I mean yes sir! But…you do believe he's innocent?"

Phoebus strokes his chin, raising an eyebrow and looking upward in thought. "That's something I can't express while on duty. But when I get off my shift, I'd be more than happy to discuss this recent breakthrough in crime with you."

_(I don't think we have that much time, but okay. He's back and forth more than Yuffie is.)_

"So what does the crime scene expose, Ph—_Captain_ Phoebus?" _(I really don't think I should be saying anything other than 'captain'…)_

"Ha! For an attorney, I expected you to have more class."

_(Well then.)_

"I can't give away that kind of information, Wright—nor can Yuffie explore the crime scene, because the investigation is still being run."

"What?" Yuffie leaps out of the fidgety position that she had been in while listening to their conversation. From her reaction, Phoenix gathers she's upset that she's being denied the right to do what she feels she must do; however, she's also somehow pleased—most likely because she's being included in the conversation again. Stomping her feet, she begins to kindle that fire that so many people wish would perish under a rare bashful demeanor from the upbeat ninja. "Peh! Well we don't have much of a choice. I'm going, whether I'm allowed or not."

"I wouldn't do that, Yuffie. You'll get poor Barney fired," Captain Phoebus warns. Obviously the officer won't do anything that dastardly, but he feels that somehow it will affect Yuffie's conscience.

It doesn't.

"I thought you were trying to stop me? Well, you sure know how to motivate girls to get the job done. I salute you, officer!"

Pho—_Captain _Phoebus halts Yuffie merely by grabbing and jerking her arm back. Her scarf seems to express her camouflaged flummox, by whipping outward and nearly sending itself into omission. Phoenix studies this and sees an edge of surprise peeking out in Yuffie's expression, bloomed from the gruffness of Captain Phoebus' grip. The captain doesn't like disobedience, obviously, but doesn't seem as put-off by Yuffie's attitude as Barney is.

"Please, Yuffie, if you need to abbreviate, just say 'captain.' And if you approach the crime scene, I'll have to arrest you." The threat makes a standstill, enticingly aloof in all its honesty.

Luckily for the ninja's repute pride, she isn't confounded. "Only if you can catch me, sailor!"

_(Yuffie can never use the right name, can she?)_

Long story short: Yuffie ends up getting arrested, much to Phoenix's chagrin and unavoidable relief. As Barney, the now smirking officer, tugs Yuffie—who nearly has to be tasered in order to cooperate, accompanied, of course, by several weighty chains ("What am I? A dog on a leash? Oh you'd like that wouldn't you, you dirty old man!") that Barney insisted be placed because the ninja was so slippery and astute—away, she glances sharply at Phoenix like he's the bad influence that started her record of wrongdoing.

"Bail me out, Spiky—and Leon, too!"

"Right. Got it."

"And get me some ice cream!"

_(How will you be able to eat it? Oh well.) _"Right. Got it."

"You get rid of hiccups by singing 'happy birthday' backwards while being dangled upside down by a horse in a tutu!"

"Right. Got—wait, what?"

"Just making sure you're listening because you're giving me that moronic look that people get when they're thinking about going to the bathroom or changing the light bulbs in their bathroom."

(_What is with Yuffie and bathrooms?)_

"Hurry up and change that light bulb, Spiky, because that look is getting tiring! Oh yeah, and here's your wallet…"

_(…I really should've seen that coming.)_

Phoenix accepts his wallet and faces Captain Phoebus, who is jadedly revising his disheveled sleeve. The lawyer makes a quick note that everyone seems to feel and look so much more tired after an encounter with Yuffie.

_(Well, one thing's for sure: This guy isn't Gumshoe. I might as well get to know him a little bit more and see who he _is_ like.)_

_To Be Continued..._

_

* * *

_

_**If You Must Know…**_

1) "_Don't have a spiky heart, oh-spiky-one! Lemme take a nab at them! I could be a blacksmith. Make a couple bucks. Get some dough from the show, take a blow from the know, and let go of the woe. What? You never heard of speech? If you're so illiterate, get a dictionary, Spiky, and stop staring at me like I'm a nut in a barrage of bananas!"_

-Here, there is a reference to the quote featured in the first chapter, when April was telling Phoenix he had a spiky heart. Also, to sort of clarify what Yuffie was talking about: Yes, she was definitely rambling and talking about earning money by becoming a blacksmith, but also she was saying ("take a blow from the know") that she probably wouldn't be successful in being one and that she would recover from the failure ("let go of the woe"). The nut in a barrage of bananas part was referencing different "terms" for "crazy." (For example: You're driving me bananas! You're nuts!) Conclusively, Yuffie was saying she wasn't crazy.

2) _"DoyoutakeSqualltobeyour100%notguiltyclient? Really? You do? 'Kay! I now declare you defense-attorney-of-a-sullen-asshole! No divorcing till after the trial is over, m'kay? All your legal babies will flip out otherwise. You don't want flip-floppin' legal babies!"_

-Yuffie is referencing a wedding ceremony, when the preacher asks, "Do you take (insert name here) to be your husband/wife?" and they respond with, "I do," and finally, "I now declare you husband and wife." The divorce part was asking Phoenix to not back out of his duties.

-The part where Phoenix was declared defense-attorney-of-a-sullen-asshole was a reference to an article by 1UP. In the article, they categorized Final Fantasy characters into five different categories that basically detailed their personality. Squall was in the second category, titled "The Sullen Asshole." This will be used a lot, because it amuses me.

3) "_And go, go, Spiky Ranger!"_

-Direct reference to the Power Rangers. It was like in a theme song or something…

_4) But sometimes he feels like the flower whose petals have been wrongly plucked by someone wearing off their troubles._

-You know which flower I'm talking about; the one that you see in movies that a girl who is undecided about the affection of one boy goes to to pluck the petals and go, "He loves me…He loves me not…" after each one. I always feel so bad for the flowers…Couldn't that account for something worse than littering? I mean, you're depleting your oxygen system and intentionally destroying a piece of nature.

5) "_Gosh, this place is the king of condoms! It's almost like they're caging away royalty…"_

-I can't believe I'm going to explain this…So condoms are used for protection, right? (ABSTINENCE, CHILDREN, ABSTINENCE. Condoms have a 14% failure rate! And you can get a freaking ton of STDs! …Just saying.) Well, Yuffie was basically saying it was a well-guarded and protective place—which is also why she's mentioning royalty, because royal families are often very guarded and protected…Yeah.

6) "…_Whatever."_

-This is actually an extremely famous quote that Squall used frequently in Final Fantasy VIII. I _really_ wanted to use it, and I thought it was a suitable place to be used.

_7) (…Chuckling? Hell, it could've been a hyena or Moe for all we know…Great…)_

-If nobody remembers, Phoenix was referring to Moe the clown from the Berry Big Circus case in _Justice For All_, the one who wanted so badly for people to laugh at his jokes that he started laughing at his own. Again, that was the case that Phoenix was in the middle of before he was torn from his world.

8) "_Captain Phoebus. I accept nothing higher or lower, if you will."_

_-_Captain Phoebus is a character from the Disney movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." If you haven't seen the movie or just don't know a lot about him, I encourage you to do some research, because he is an amazing character that I will never be able to do justice!

9) _"I wouldn't do that, Yuffie. You'll get poor Barney fired."_

_-_This really won't be revealed until about the next chapter, but I did steal Officer Barney from a show called _The Andy Griffith Show._ Barney Fife is a character on the show and is, of course, a police officer.

10) _("HEY, GRUMPTY DUMPTY! Looks like instead of falling off a wall, you're locked behind one! Doesn't your life suck—sucks like eggs! Being that you are one, guess that means you suck.")_

-Yuffie was referencing the nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty."

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own any of these characters or the games.

**A/N: **All right, before you leave, I want to know who you want to be the prosecutor. You _may_ pick a prosecutor from the Phoenix Wright games or one that is completely unrelated to the games. I already have one in mind, but if there is a _really_ good suggestion I may change it. _If_ I do pick a suggested prosecutor, then the story may change depending on how big of a role the prosecutor will play. Though I do have the story planned, it can still be revised. It can be a Disney character that hasn't been featured yet _or_ a prosecutor from the Phoenix Wright games _or_ a character from neither that can somehow fit the role.

Before I go, I want to say thanks for reading. I really do hope to extend this story for a long time and really make it as complicated as I possibly can. To answer my question (Which prosecutor should I use?) you can review. If you're uncomfortable reviewing, then just PM me. If you're anonymous, then I suppose reviewing would be the best route. I don't want to sound like a beggar, but reviews are always welcome! I won't be offended if you didn't like something. I will ALWAYS accept advice and constructive criticism or just a comment. I will _not_ accept flames, however. If you're mad about something, just simply and calmly say something about it. I'll understand. Thank you to anyone who read this, and stay tuned! :D


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